Friendly fire suspected in Ukrainian F‑16 tragedy
An investigation is underway to determine the causes of the Ukrainian F-16 aircraft disaster. There are indications that the aircraft may have crashed as a result of friendly fire from the Patriot system, reported "New York Times" on Saturday, citing a Western government official. However, investigators do not rule out the possibility of mechanical failure or pilot error.
Military experts quoted by the newspaper claim that "the risk of friendly fire becomes particularly high during mass missile and drone attacks."
Mark Cancian from the American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that tracking who is friend and who is enemy, especially when missiles are flying around at the same time, is challenging," said. He added that friendly fire is a huge problem.
"NYT" reminded that the USA has supplied Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems, which include radars and mobile missile launchers used for defense against Russian military air attacks.
Ukrainian pilot dies in F-16 crash
Ukraine lost its first F-16 aircraft delivered from the West; the plane crashed in an accident last Monday. The General Staff of Ukraine confirmed the loss of the F-16 aircraft and the death of the pilot on Thursday evening Eastern Time. The Ukrainian Air Force Command "West" stated that in the airplane crash that took place on Monday, August 26, pilot Lt. Col. Oleksiy Mes, one of the six Ukrainian pilots who underwent accelerated training in the USA for piloting these fighters, was killed. Experts believe that the shortened training might pose an additional risk.
A special commission of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has been appointed to investigate the causes of the disaster and is already working at the site of the incident.
Just a few days ago, Ukraine received six out of the 45 F-16s promised by European allies.
"The loss of one of just six F-16s delivered represents a significant blow to Western efforts to re-equip the Eastern European country with NATO’s most widely used fighter class, and depending on the circumstances of the loss potentially has significant implications for the future of these efforts," the Military Watch Magazine reads.
